Most fluid PzC East Front games?

[Strela]

Hi All,

As the designer for Moscow '42, I thought it opportune to comment based upon some of the commentary in this thread.

Firstly, on the Eastern Front there was rarely an action that wasn't into some for of fortifications. Exploitation battles such as Smolensk '41 or the approaches to Stalingrad in the early scenarios in that title were the only exceptions. Both sides took the opportunity to dig in whenever possible and the front lines reflected that. In Fall Kreml, the front line had been static for three months allowing some fairly established positions, coincidentally this is the same time that Kursk took to be fortified the following year. Add to the fact that the Soviets expected the Moscow sector to be hit and it had priority on resources.

Now that said, look at the scenario setup. You are not expected to attack all along the line. It's right, 95% of the front will in the main be static (one of the reasons we included the smaller mini-scenarios), so you need to determine where you will focus your attack. Look at the scenario setup, there are clearly areas with additional engineering resources and they should guide you on where to mass your effort. The problem with a linear defence is that it has to be strong everywhere, the attack has to be only strong at the point of focus. Once you break through the bunker line, I can promise you that the game becomes overly fluid. That's due to the fact that a bunker line is easy to roll up once the enemy penetrates it and any units that remain in it run the risk of isolation unless the breach is covered quickly. German Panzer units have a habit of making that much more difficult for a player.

Talking of breaking through bunker lines, Ricky B has a good primer here; https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...?tid=70529

My only regret with the Fall Kreml scenarios is that I didn't do more post breakout. The three included (Bokhino, Efremov and Moscow), show the effect of no fortifications and more mobile troops. There is a very solid range of (winter) fluid scenarios in the earlier Russian counterattack though.

David